MPSA MAILBAG – June 2009
What the neighbors are telling us. As always, mailbag items do not necessarily reflect MPSA position…
Potential burglar - Our house on Penn Avenue was cased this afternoon. Fortunately all that was stolen was some garden hoses but a large black woman pounded on our door and tried to gain entry. It was very scary.
Car break-in (lower Myrtle) – My car was broken into over the weekend. Nothing was visible in the car, in fact there was nothing to take so they took my insurance information (?) and some oil change receipts from the glove compartment. The bastards not only shattered the window, they bent the window frame. Police were great, came and dusted for prints but couldn’t get any. They also tried to break Rob’s window but couldn’t (mark on window with some rock dust). Do you know what to use to remove the black fingerprint dust? What I’ve used just spreads it around. Since the event, I’ve been parking in the garage. It was full of office furniture since we moved the business home, but we took some items to Goodwill and reorganized so at least the driver can open the door.
Court Watch – As indicated at the meeting last evening, we attended a recent court watch at the Fulton County Jail. Judge Walter Lovett was the judge who presided over the court. The defendant, a very young black male, pleaded guilty to car theft for the 2nd time, an attempted car theft as well as alluding police. The offenses totaled approximately a suggested 20+ years sentence. Judge Lovett sentenced the defendant to less than two years in prison (he could be paroled in six months). We need to get more active in providing information to the citizens about some of the reasons criminals are back on our streets shortly after their arrest. Our judges need to know we are watching and paying attention to what they are doing.
Parcel theft story – one afternoon a year or so ago I just happened to notice a young man on my front porch and initially thought he was with UPS. I went to the front porch to get whatever he was leaving and instead found him rifling through my mail and holding a stack of “menus” in the other hand (the type local restaurants leave on doors around here). When he saw me, he threw down my mail and several of the menus and ran. After calling APD with a full, detailed description of the guy, I then called the restaurant listed on the menu and of course they had no people giving out menus but were very interested in how this young man got a handful of their menus to use as his cover…MPSA Note holding a hand full of menus is a good ploy for getting onto your porch and into your mailbox without suspicion!
Purse snatching – At 6:45 [Sunday] morning, a women that lives across 6th street from our back porch [6th & Piedmont] was walking to her building from Juniper street. She was grabbed by a tall, older, black man who looked like a vagrant. He drug her down the street while wrestling her purse away and then ran off in the direction of Piedmont. [We] heard her scream, banged on our back door to scare him off, and called 911. It is entirely possible that he followed her all the way down the block from where Loco Luna used to be. She seemed to be unharmed but he did get away with her purse. MPSA NOTE: We relayed this, along with a detailed report on the criminogenic conditions on that block to Major Williams. He directed his lieutenants to visit and assess that location. They will research police reports, and Major Williams will seek a major property owner for a meeting. Always report suspicious and criminal activity to 911.
And, another burglary - Our garage [in the upper half of] Penn Ave was broken into sometime last week to have our lawnmower stolen as well as wine/alcoholic beverages from the refrigerator…unsure as to what else may have been taken at this time, but wanted to pass the info along – the garage now has a padlock.
Kenneth Lamb Update 6/29/2009
Last month, Kenneth Lamb entered a guilty plea to Possession of Cocaine. He was sentenced to 30 years commuted to time served on the condition that he enter into a transitional house and be banished from Fulton County. It appears that he entered the transitional house, but quickly moved on and no longer has accurate information on the sex offender registry. He still has one unindicted case, which we hope will put this public safety concern to rest for us. Since our report, we have received reports of sightings, mainly in the upper Cheshire Bridge area, but also along Monroe Drive from Ansley Mall northward. Please continue to report sightings.
- Kenneth Lamb profile sheet: http://www.midtownponce.org/news/profile040.pdf
Burglars Galore!
1. Zone 6 burglary [east of us including Virginia Highland and Cheshire Bridge Corridor] investigators put out an update on Frederick Stranahan, who was arrested at the Intown Suites in early April after his crime spree through intown neighborhoods earlier this year. Stranahan took a plea deal of 20 years, of which he must serve at least 5. Once he serves his sentence in Georgia, Florida authorities will pursue charges for burglaries in the West Palm Beach area. Stranahan was the subject of an alert put out in April.
2. Police are still looking for Stranahan’s accomplice, Mark “Stump” Harper. While he is known to frequent areas noted for white male vagrants – like Cheshire Bridge Road, Ansley Mall, and the Monroe Drive & I-85 area – nothing stops him from venturing into places further south, like Midtown and Virginia Highland. Both also have pending charges in DeKalb County.
- Mark Harper BOLO flyer: http://www.midtownponce.org/news/BOLO_Harper20090626.pdf
3. In an unrelated case, two officers working an extra job for Bedford Pine detained a male subject after observing him scaling a fence at 650 Glen Iris Drive (Glen Iris Lofts). An officer backing them up recognized the subject, Michael Edwards, from a wanted flyer. Zone 5 Burglary investigators developed him as a suspect in a recent burglary in the 500 block of Highland Avenue, based on finger prints and other forensic evidence. Authorities suspect Edwards in several additional burglaries, and will likely lay charges accordingly.
4TH OF JULY WEEKEND
The 4th of July weekend is upon us once again, and many of you will be taking a much-deserved vacation. Please don’t forget – MPSA members can request a vacation check during their absence. Please send an e-mail to info@midtownponce.org – a day or two of advance notice preferred in case the patrol has questions – with the following information:
- Dates of departure and return
- Address
- Emergency phone numbers
- Whether someone may be at your home at certain times (pet sitter, yard man, etc)
- Name & number of local contact with key in case of emergency
The patrol and trusted volunteers will check on the house at least once per day, and remove or hide signs of absence (trash receptacles at street, newspapers, etc). They will not take out trash or feed animals.
When away from home, we urge you to suspend newspaper and mail delivery, double check all doors and windows, set lamp timers, and give the above information to a trusted neighbor or local contact. Let your immediate neighbors know you are away so they can keep watch over your house.
APD & Your Patrol in Action
At approximately 2am on the morning of June 26th, a trio robbed a pedestrian in the mid-800 block of Myrtle Street. Police responding to the call, including Officer Gruen who was working for MPSA that night, apprehended the subject after a brief chase. The victim confirmed that they had the three suspects. Police on the scene also recovered the gun used in the robbery.
As Sgt. Norman wrote in an internal commendation letter, the immediate response of these officers provided for the arrest and prosecution of three potentially dangerous criminals and decreases the threat to citizens in an area that has been plagued by an increase in crime recently.
We would also like to commend all of the officers who work diligently to make our neighborhood as safe as possible despite the egregious mistreatment by city administration. This episode shows how valuable it is having MPSA officers on the streets and immediately available when a 911 call comes in from our service area.
Sponsors
Many thanks for our community sponsors! While the majority of our funding comes from residents and small businesses, a significant portion of our neighborhood patrol funds comes from the following sponsors:
